Succubus Takes Manhattan Read Online Free PDF

the line. “Look, I think he may be trying to find you. Especially watch out at Public, okay? He knows that place, knows that you and your friends have brunch there on Sundays. He might be planning something there. I don’t know precisely what he’s up to but he’s getting information from some very good source, because he was talking about you dating some Dutch guy, and he’s interested in the guy, too. Saw him in Aruba or something.”
    So now all was clear. Nathan knew that I’d had a fling in Aruba. Well, he’d dumped me. I was a free agent and if I wanted to date anyone, he had nothing to say about that.
    “And how is this relevant?” I demanded.
    Nathan sighed. “I think that Branford might be trying to get both of you. I know he wanted you and then appeared to lose interest. Now he’s back trying to harm you again, and he’s somehow focused on this guy in Aruba, too. You didn’t tell me about the guy in Aruba.”
    Oh, so that was what it was about now. Nathan was jealous, looking for some reason to justify himself. And I thought about Danielle’s good advice and decided that he didn’t need to know anything about what I’d done in Aruba. We weren’t dating and it was none of his business. “Yes, I talked with a few guys in Aruba. I had drinks with one. I danced at the resort club. I told you all of that,” I reminded him. “And yes, I’m ready to date again. Which is no crime. I’m not your girlfriend. Your choice.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said, and he did sound truly contrite. “I didn’t mean to snap. Just that I’m following Branford and I’ve managed to listen to a lot of his cell phone calls and he’s a nasty character. And he’s mentioned you several times and said that you’d gotten out of his grip by luck, but he knows better now.”
    I digested this information. “Do you know where he’s getting his information?” I asked. This was exactly what Meph needed to know. Branford was clearly being primed and aimed by whoever was gunning for us. “And his money? For someone with no income who just went all over the Caribbean, he pops up in the weirdest places.”
    “I’m working on that,” Nathan snapped. “Why are you interested? But I think it’s clear he’s got some backing with some deep pockets. He’s rented another office, by the way, in Park Slope.”
    “Not cheap,” I said. Which was an understatement. Park Slope was a chic and expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn.
    “I’ve been following that but so far I don’t have enough hard evidence. I don’t know who’s backing him or who’s giving him his information. For all I know, it’s one of you. I’m working on the account traces now.”
    “Could—would you tell me when you find out?” I asked contritely.
    “I’m sorry, that’s for our employer in the case. He’s paying for the information.”
    “But I could get hurt again,” I protested. I understood perfectly well that his client had first call, and I wondered again who his client was. I almost asked, but I thought that would be pushing too far. I wondered if it could be Meph, but dismissed the notion. Just wandering in to some random detective agency and asking them to follow the small fry? That was not his style.
    “Lily? Okay, Lily, if I have any idea it could involve you, I’ll tell you. Why do you think I called tonight? I just heard that he would be looking out for you, maybe tonight or tomorrow. Where were you planning to go tonight?”
    Suddenly I got paranoid. Suspicious. If I told Nathan and this Branford guy showed up, would that mean that he’d known before or that Nathan had told him? “A sushi bar,” I said carefully.
    “Good. Because from his conversation he’s planning to find you at Public. So you should be safe enough somewhere else. But don’t tell anyone else.”
    “Thank you,” I whispered. And then he hung up.
    So I was fifteen minutes late to the sushi bar where Desi and I were meeting. She had already ordered sake when I